My aquaponic adventures

[luxton]

I haven’t done as much of the redesign as I’d like, but for now I dropped the bed from 27.5" to 21", so I’ve gained about 6" of grow height!

My new 3 gallon fabric bags arrive tomorrow, so I’ll be taking all this hydroton, filling up the bags with it and cutting holes in the grow bed container lid (yay, we found it!) to support the bags. Once that’s done, I’ll be testing different wicking mediums to see the best way to get water up to the plants. They may end up in half filled bags and I’ll “repot” them and just add more hydroton below.

When I was going through the root ball for the last plant, there were at least 10 worms dug deep into the ball, it took forever to get them out! But, where they were they would have been completely submerged, which means the water has TONS of oxygen in it and it generally in pretty good shape

[luxton]

If anyone sees anything blatantly wrong in what I’m doing, light height, whatever, please feel free to point it out .

I’m gearing up for a longer Veg on this next grow. I’ll be topping and my first attempt at supercropping, any advice is welcomed!

[crunkyeah]

@luxton

I’ve been tossing around ideas about how to keep everything in my tent, from popping seeds to bringing up the seedlings, right out to budding. It can’t all happen in the same place, so the plants are going to have to move.

this is one of the design elements i struggle with as well. i think everyone does haha. part of the fun right?

@luxton

If these work the way I’m hoping, I think I’ll be able to drop seedlings right into their 3 gallon bag and grow them up in the top half of the front 1’ section of the tent, then move the whole bag into a spot in the big tent grow bed(s)

should work well! lots of people use fabric pots as a wicking medium. i think even with hard ones a person will be ok as long as the canna roots can reach the water, wherever level it gets wicked to. the roots themselves will quickly become very good wicks. it’s kinda their purpose

@luxton

I haven’t done as much of the redesign as I’d like, but for now I dropped the bed from 27.5" to 21", so I’ve gained about 6" of grow height!

it looks absolutely fantastic. it definitely seems like your led was too close. it’s incredible how powerful they are these days. getting your training system down is going to make a huge difference too!

@luxton

I’m gearing up for a longer Veg on this next grow. I’ll be topping and my first attempt at supercropping, any advice is welcomed!

read up here on OG. soo much helpful info here that i can’t even scratch the surface of. real glad you’re going to give a longer veg time! i’m sure it’s going to be a dualistic synergy. more worms = more bud nutrition & more filtering. more roots = more places for worms to be happy. it’s a win-win. if you get too many worms cut a couple up and feed them to the fishes

i do have a question about the constant flow system you’re using. probably too stoned too remember lol. does your grow bed have a certain level of water in it? or does it just run in via pump and right out via drain? also what are the new 5gal buckets for? biofilters? looks good to me!

[luxton]

Well, my project for the day wasn’t nearly as difficult as I was anticipating… Although I’m not sure what I was anticipating, lol.

Start here

Cut out some holes and pop in some net pots

Imagine some pipe contraption for watering

The just drop it in the bucket

I have my new rooter . Waiting for the actual sprayers to arrive later today, the it’ll be lost of testing to make sure everything gets wet (kinda wishing it was summer so I could do this testing outside, lol), and she’ll be good to go .

[luxton]

@crunkyeah

part of the fun right?

Absolutely

@crunkyeah

i think even with hard ones a person will be ok

I had rockwool stacked up 4 tall, the bottom one was almost entirely submerged and after a day the top one was still dry. That being said, I wet the top of yesterday and everything is still wet today, so I guess it’s going to take some playing around to get it right .

@crunkyeah

it definitely seems like your led was too close. it’s incredible how powerful they are these days

You’re right… Looking at “kits” now, they’re pairing a 4x4 tent with a 600 watt led, mine is 1000 watt . I almost way to turn it over and have it shining straight up and let the reflective tent shine light back on the plants, lol

@crunkyeah

real glad you’re going to give a longer veg time

There are some auto flowering seeds on their way to me right now that I’m testing out. The 3 plants I already have popped are going to run along with the autos, so I’m going to need to do some serious training to keep the timing on par . Should be a fun time, and a good harvest!

@crunkyeah

does your grow bed have a certain level of water in it

Yes and no… There’s about a half inch lip on the drain, so that keeps water in, and I have a screen screwed to the drain to try and keep the hydroton in the bed. The screen does clog up every now and then with little bits of plant matter and stuff, so that builds up a bit of a backflow in the bed as well. So it SHOULD just pump up and drain out, but sometimes it needs some help.

@crunkyeah

what are the new 5gal buckets for

When I used the wrong fertilizer a few weeks ago I took out a bunch of water. Initially I was thinking I would slowly feed it back into the system, watered down a ton, and I may still, but for now they’re adding a bunch of humidity, it was down around 48%

[luxton]

The fabric bags showed up, and after a thorough rinsing, they’re holding clay and plants . Let’s set how this round goes… Pretty sure I’m still gonna be aching for more grow bed space, these bags are a little bigger than I anticipated.

Got the little girls out from under the massive aquarium and into they’re pots, hopefully enough water is wicked up to feed them. The girl () on the left has a solid 8-9" tap root, so I was able to get that right down into water .

Here we go

[crunkyeah]

pretty cool to see you got a cloner going ^^ will be cool to see when you get it going and have your successes with it too!

@luxton

4x4 tent with a 600 watt led, mine is 1000 watt

are you sure it’s 1000w from the wall? a lot of those older blurple lights were labeled to be misleading imo. says 1000w led but only puts like 310w from the wall. just curious. either way you’ve established it’s ‘more than bright’ so you’re set there lol.

those 3 gal grow bags are a bit big for your system it looks like. you can hack them down with scissors if you need, just don’t cut the handles off. i’ve used grow bags like that and while nice they don’t last forever. i got 3 cycles of use out of some heavy duty ones i got a couple years ago. something to keep in mind.

they look absolutely fantastic in your system though! very cool. you almost have kind of a sub irrigated planter going on. i if there’s a way to do sub irrigation which will ultimately save vertical height. the ‘trick’ we might have been missing with cannabis and aquaponics is wicking. need to some more!

keep up the good work. all well with the fishes now i assume?

[luxton]

@crunkyeah

pretty cool to see you got a cloner going ^^ will be cool to see when you get it going and have your successes with it too!

Thanks man… Now I just have to figure out what chems to add to it, lol. And then it’s grow baby grow! Haha

@crunkyeah

are you sure it’s 1000w from the wall

Ahh, it’s 1000 watt “equivalent”, so whatever that means… But it’s definitely more than I need. Being only a little more than a year old, it’s the one I’m going to be living with for a while, lol

@crunkyeah

those 3 gal grow bags are a bit big for your system it looks like

They’re wider than I was picturing, but the height is actually what I’m looking for. The grow bed itself isn’t deep enough to really support a big plant, the root balls on all of the three plants I pulled out were less than 4" wide and maybe 5" deep when held up by the stalk. So yeah, I’m hoping these give me a little more stability for bigger plants , at least more tie down spots for the LST training I’ll be doing .

@crunkyeah

you almost have kind of a sub irrigated planter going

Its kinda looking that way, eh? I’m just following the idea, get fishy water to the plants . I’m hoping when I moved them to these pots I got the roots in a good spot to get some solid water… I’ll be watering them at least once a day for a bit, just to make sure.

Yup yup, all good with the fish… The little ones are loving having more room in the tank, and with the grow bed lower it isn’t disturbing the water in the tank as much, so I get to see them a lot more

[crunkyeah]

@luxton

Now I just have to figure out what chems to add to it, lol. And then it’s grow baby grow! Haha

not sure what your tap water is like there but mine is like 250ppm ~6.5ph. normally i set aside a couple gallons to off gas the chlorine then a couple drops of Superthrive and then that’s it. one thing i’ve found is that when i add water (to top off) is adding really cold water typically helps balance it out. over the week or two plants will be trying to develop roots, the water pump and ambient air temps will slowly drift the water into being slightly ‘warm’. too much heat in the root zone will slow things down and you could lose them all if it gets too warm. typically this happens when roots are really taking off.

@luxton

Ahh, it’s 1000 watt “equivalent”, so whatever that means

it’s probably nearer to 250w or 300w. the thing is, once you find the ideal height for the best growth it’s just a matter of making sure your plants will fill that space. once you find that ‘goldilocks’ zone it becomes a bit awesome to see. your plants will push themselves to their limits for “more”. it’s a fantastic thing to see

@luxton

So yeah, I’m hoping these give me a little more stability for bigger plants , at least more tie down spots for the LST training I’ll be doing .

if you’re doing screening i don’t think it’s necessary to worry about the stability in your root zone. most of the plants’ weights will be leaning on or supported entirely by the screen. either way the 3g pots give each plant it’s own designated space which will make harvesting and maintenance much easier for you. 3 gallons is a pretty good size; i’m sure they’ll be awesome!

@luxton

I’ll be watering them at least once a day for a bit, just to make sure.

they look to me to be large enough to be seeking that water down below. if the roots aren’t getting wet, give a couple days and they’ll surely be tapped into the constant flow below. cannabis can be a little insane sometimes in the roots when it’s looking for more food/water.

glad to hear the fish are content. are you using the drain’s flow to aerate a little bit? you know you could do some kind of splash guard so the water returning to the fish tank is ‘smooth and calm’. basically you want to give the water a place to run along so that when it finally meets with the surface tension of the fish water, there’s seamless integration.

[luxton]

@crunkyeah

gas the chlorine then a couple drops of Superthrive

Beauty, that’s what I’ve been looking for thanks man! I might throw a digital thermometer in there and watch it, thanks for the heads up!

@crunkyeah

it’s probably nearer to 250w or 300w

Whatever it is, yeah, in the right spot it’s dealt to watch them take off . Other than harvesting, this is my favourite part . I just have to find that ridge height and keep it there. I got a light sensor, I’m going to try and keep it but the numbers, hopefully, lol.

@crunkyeah

screening

Yeah… Screening… Still trying to figure out the supports for a screen… I’d really like to find a product that hangs from tent top bars and supports the net, that’d be sweet.

@crunkyeah

if the roots aren’t getting wet, give a couple days and they’ll surely be tapped into the constant flow below

For sure, I know the roots will eventually get there, I just want to make sure they’re helped along the way… So, a couple days of watering from the top and all should be golden

I was using the drains as a little aeration, but with the monster air pump going into the garbage can now, there’s more than enough air. There’s also the return from the garbage can that’s breaking the top of the water, so it should be good to go .

[luxton]

@crunkyeah

a couple drops of Superthrive

@crunkyeah, Is this the stuff?

[luxton]

I noticed last night, but didn’t have my phone with me to take a pic, the girls have almost doubled in size since I put them in…

Xtreme haze

Oatz #2

Oatz #1

The fan is blowing on them directly, so they should be toughening up here a bit more and they’ll be givin’r all out

Getting a better look after I posted the pics, it looks like I’m a little low in N… I guess I need to get a few more fish in there. A nice, medium sized goldfish is perfect… They eat a ton, so they poop a ton… They’re still small enough to not be eat other ones, but big enough to not be eaten themselves. I have a bunch of tiny little ones that are skittish and don’t eat a ton yet. I rhink I’ll drain some out of the really big tank into the system when I’m topping up the water later, that should give it a boost.

[crunkyeah]

they look good to me. if you have a little N def the plants aren’t showing much signs. the tips look nice and new growth is good. the growth doubling since putting them in is a good sign you have things close to ideal. of course as they get bigger they’ll demand more, so more fish soon should be a good thing.

when reading up on aquaponic nutrition i seen that typically people don’t have to deal with ‘overfert’ problems. typically the plants take what they need. from what i’ve read the best way to ‘balance’ a loaded system is to plant some high nutrient requirement plants like garlic/tomatoes/cannabis.

with a constant flow and supply to new water, your plants are always able to take exactly what they need and no more. they won’t absorb the nutrition if they can’t also use it. it’s actually a detriment to systems like these where plants are watered in series rather than individually. you can’t tell what nutrients the plant is absorbing, just that it is. however, the upsides for such systems can be immense when we consider growing at scale. once you get up to about 20 plants it becomes a chore to hand water each one, imo. when they’re small it’s easy but when each one is drinking half to a full gallon of water daily, it’s a bit different.

on the different sized of fish. one think i seen on Rob Bob’s YT channel which i really like is that he’s got a ‘fry or fingerling’ section within his big tanks. basically all it is is a laundry hamper/basket with a fine mesh screen attached to the outside so all of the ‘aeration holes’ become screened. this allows a person to submerge the entire hamper in the tank and you have a mini section for the small fish where you don’t have to worry about them being eaten. since we’re not doing 200+ big fish i’m sure a person could design a small section out of a plastic container. heck even a milk jug with the top cut off would be suitable for a little while.

as i consider more variables with food crops vs canna, i’m starting to lean towards food crops for aquaponics. cannabis has some inherent characteristics which make it extremely tedious to figure out for an aquaponic system. it can be done but i’m not sure it’s practical for the results we get. it would be like babying your plants with every ‘best’ thing possible only to end up with a couple ounces of premium bud. meanwhile someone tossed a handful of seeds next to a marsh somewhere and never touched the plants and those are harvesting kilos per plant. something to think about

do you disagree? i hope so cause then maybe i can get another point of view!

[luxton]

How To Grow Medical Cannabis Part #4. First Training. #LST #Defoliation #ILGM #MarsHydro #SP3000

This is the kind of lst training I’m going to attempt this grow. This guy grows some beautiful plants, and does so without nets, I. Hoping to pull something similar off, which is also a reason foe the 3 gallon pots over the straight grow bed.

@crunkyeah

if you have a little N def the plants aren’t showing much signs

The xtreme haze leaf closest to the camera has me a little worried, and oatz 2 has one close to the camera and the one on the right and both showing some signs of being unhappy… But I may still have some traces of nutes they don’t like. But thank you! I appreciate that

@crunkyeah

typically the plants take what they need

Absolutely true, deficiencies and WAY over excess will hurt, but it’s a very forgiving system.

@crunkyeah

it’s actually a detriment to systems like these where plants are watered in series

Yes and no… It depends on how fast your water is moving. If it’s really slow, the first plant will absorb the nutes and there won’t be enough for the next. However, if the water is moving quickly enough (basically, not stagnant) then the nutes are pretty even throughout.

A full gallon of water a day?? Holy shit! Although, I don’t actually know how much my plants are drinking, I just fill up the tank when it’s empty. Maybe I should record that this time… It won’t be totally accurate as I lose a ton to evaporation, but… It’d be interesting.

@crunkyeah

Rob Bob’s YT channel which i really like is that he’s got a ‘fry or fingerling’ section

Working with goldfish is a little troublesome as they grow… They’re definitely not a plate fish, lol. So as they get big, like my 8" monster, they need other tanks to go to… Or a big enough tank that it can be divided and all the fish still have a decent home.

@crunkyeah

starting to lean towards food crops for aquaponics. cannabis has some inherent characteristics which make it extremely tedious to figure out

For sure. You can’t specialize your potting soil and your nutes on a plant-by-plant basis, it’s definitely more generalized. But also, like you said, canna will take up the nutes it wants and needs, so… 6 of one, a half dozen of the other, ya know?

The big difference I see is, when you’re watering even if you have 5 plants, each plant requires that watering time, plus any pruning time. Aquaponics takes the watering side of it out, so you can just concentrate on shaping your plants accordingly.

The funny thing is, I think I’ve watched a lot of the videos you’re watching, the ones that show bigger systems than you’d really have indoors. Which is also why I threw 50 goldfish in when I was fist starting, I was building to scale, but I had no scale on the grow side, lol. It can definitely be scaled down though… 4-5 healthy fish eating their weight in food every few days to a week, pooping like a Canadian drinking Mexican tap water, you’ll double plant size every week or so, which is where mine are at now .

So, now the big challenge for me this time… Don’t over f’ing prune!!

[luxton]

Xtreme haze

Oatz x rolling Thunder #1

Oatz x rolling Thunder #2

Girls are looking good today… They’re all now sprouting their 4th nodes despite being a few inches difference in height. A couple more nodes and I’ll start the training

[luxton]

Well, smoking my first joint of pure power plant… First problem, my fingers were so sticky from getting the buds into the grinder that I could barely handle the Rollie… I like that problem .

There may not be a ton of it, but it smokes VERY smooth, I barely notice I’m inhaling at all. I’m halfway through this joint and I already know standing up is going to be fun .

I’ll get more of a flavour profile with my vape, but for now, I’m very happy with this grow, I just wish there was a lot more (isn’t that always the way? Haha)

[luxton]

2ish hours later and I’m still feeling it… I usually smoke 2-3 joints of store bought stuff and I don’t feel much, I usually stop because I’m either cold, bored or my lungs hurt, lol. But damn, I’m still kinda spacey from that 1 joint, I haven’t been able to try it in my vape yet even

[RainToday]

Wow! Just finally got to reading through most of your thread
Do you have any idea whether the aquaponics bud is a smoother than home grown in living soil? I’m on a quest for the smoothest smoke possible. Been dreaming of getting a fish tank going again…

[luxton]

I can tell you, the shitty weed off that horribly cared for plant is drastically more smooth than anything I’ve bought over the last few years, and it kicked me in the head for 3ish hours, which is absolutely unheard of with store bought. Even through a vape, I can crank the heat and I still don’t cough.

So, all in all, I’d say it’s pretty smooth

[luxton]

Also, thanks for following along